Nise No Ai (False Love)
by Half Demon Alchemist
Summary: High School AU Roy Mustang and Edward Elric are best friends, closer than brothers. But things change when Winry confesses her "undying love" for Ed. In a moment of panic, Ed tells her that he already has someone special in his life. Roy. And Roy -being the best friend that he is- goes along with it. Now, they have to pretend to be a couple, but are they really pretending?
1. Friday Nights and Best Friends

**Alright, so this is my first time writing something in the humor genre, so I'm actually really excited to give this a try. You know, have a change from my normally horribly depressing stories. Oh and this chapter is dedicated to my best friend, Blackrose2358, and you should totally check out her Laven story!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own FMA, which is rather disappointing **

**_Chapter One:_**

**_Friday Nights and Best Friends_**

Edward Elric was actually in a good mood, which was rare for him during school. I mean, after dealing with all the jocks and the idiots, and the neanderthals who went to his school, with their constant teasing remarks and obnoxious attitudes, who would be in a good mood at eight in the morning?

But today his spirits were high and he didn't even yell at that guy who called him short. Well, he didn't yell too much. Less than usual, anyway. But why was this teen in such a good mood, you ask?

It was because Roy was back.

Yes, that's right, Roy Mustang (the pyro) was his best friend in the entire world, and he was back in town from some mandatory family vacation that he had been forced to go on. Roy had been gone for two weeks, and anyone in the school could tell you that although Ed was next to always in a foul mood, when Roy was gone, his mood plummeted even more so.

Ah, the power of best friends.

But today, Edward would be meeting Roy after school, when Roy got back from the airport. And they were planning on staying over Ed's house, seeing as it was only Ed and his younger brother Alphonse living there. His father left when he was a kid, and his mother died a few years later. But he still had Al. So Roy would come over to his house, and they'd stay up all night eating junk food and playing violent video games, and his raven-haired friend would complain about his family members until they fell asleep on the couch.

Yep, sounded like the perfect Friday night to him.

"Hey, Ed!" A voice called from behind him.

Turning around, he saw that it was his old lab partner, Winry Rockbell. They hadn't really talked all that much, but she was nice enough, so Ed talked to her quite often during these last two weeks when Roy wasn't here. It was better than being alone, after all.

Winry was pretty enough, long blonde hair and bright blue eyes, and he knew that she was popular with the male population of the school, and even some of the females as well, judging by the catcalls and appreciative glances he saw her getting. Guys were falling at her feet every time she turned around.

He just happened to not be one of those guys.

"Hey Winry." He greeted, waving his gloved automail hand in a small wave. A small smile spread across his lips.

"How's your morning been going so far?" She asked him, a large smile on her face as she walked beside him, their classes in the same direction.

Ed shrugged noncommittally. "Eh, everything's fine I guess." He paused, rubbing his neck with his flesh hand before continuing. "I just wish school was over already."

"Oh? Why?" She stopped, flashing him a teasing grin. "Ya have a hot date?" She wiggled her blonde eyebrows, her voice taking on a suggestive tone.

The shorter blond let out a bark of laugher. "Pfft, as if Winry." He grinned back at her. "Roy's coming back home tonight, you know that."

She rolled her eyes. "Of course I know, Ed. Practically the whole school knows." Deciding to tease him further, she continued. "I mean, that's all you've been talking about for the last two weeks. Do you have a countdown calendar in your locker?"

Scoffing, Edward quickened his pace, walking ahead of her in mock anger. "Shuddup, Winry."

The girl scrambled after him, resuming her place beside him as they turned down the hallway corridor. "Ed..." She said quietly, her head to tilted towards the floor.

Edward turned to face her, wondering why she was suddenly so soft-spoken. Winry tilted her head to look at him, her mouth open as if she was trying to force herself to speak.

After a moment of silence, she finally got the words out. "Ed... There's uh, something I have to tell you. Meet me at your locker after school on Monday, okay?" A rosy blush invaded her cheeks, making her cheeks go from their usual smooth pale color to a fiery pink. Sweat beaded on her forehead, and she shuffled her feet nervously, clearly embarrassed by the thought of what she was going to tell him.

Edward thought she had a fever.

* * *

School had officially ended for the day, and he practically jumped down the stairs at the entrance to the school. Damn, school was boring when you didn't have anyone to talk to or joke around with.

"I know you're excited to see me, but damn, calm down shortie." A cool voice said from beside him.

The reply was instantaneous. "WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SHORT THEY WOULD DROWN IN A PUDDLE!" The blond yelled, not turning around to look at the offender, already knowing full well who the only person who dared make remarks about his height knowing they'd get away alive was.

Turning his head, Edward's golden eyes settled upon the sight of his best friend leaning against the trunk of a tree, a smirk on his face. Walking over to the older teen, albeit glaring.

Roy was older by two years, Ed being sixteen and Roy eighteen. But Edward was what you would call a prodigy, so he skipped a few grades, and both were now in their Senior year of high school.

As soon as Edward was close to Roy, the pyro placed one gloved hand on his head, ruffling up his hair, effectively screwing up his braid. Eyes narrowing a bit more, Edward muttered some rather foul swears at the taller boy, to which said raven-haired teen feigned hurt.

"Now Edward, is that any way to greet your best friend?"

The petite teen continued to mutter swears.

Laughing, Roy ruffled the blond hair again, making it even more frazzled and chaotic than it previously was. "Missed you too, pal."

Shaking Roy's gloved hand off his head, he turned away, walking on the sidewalk, his onyx-eyed friend following after him. "Come on idiot, let's just go home."

The two had long since stopped referring to the Elric residence as "Edward's house" seeing as the pair spent the majority of their time there, they had just started calling it "home". And for some reason, there was this odd-fuzzy feeling they both got in their chest when the other called it their home.

* * *

As soon as they stepped through the threshold of Ed's old house, they immediately kicked off their shoes and dropped their bags on the floor. Al was over at his friend Fletcher's house and wouldn't be back until tomorrow morning, so the two decided to camp out on the couch.

The two sat on the couch, playing video games to their hearts content. Roy did complain about his family vacation, how his aunt what's-her-face kept pinching his cheeks and telling him how much he grew and his uncle whoever smelled really weird.

Edward had laughed and said Roy must've gotten that from his uncle.

Roy pouted about it for hours.

And as the hours went by, they fell into their normal routine. Play video games, eating crappy frozen pizza from the nearby supermarket, filling each other in on their weeks, complaining about people from their school. Ya know, teenage boy stuff.

The more levels they passed on their game, the more they realized it was now around one in the morning, Ed had a long day at school and Roy still had jet lag. With a yawn, Roy put down his control on the small coffee table that was littered with various cans of soda, pizza boxes and bags of chips.

"Ed, we should probably sleep..." Roy told his blond companion, leaning back on the arm of the couch.

The shorter teen nodded in agreement, he really was tired, but his excitement from Roy's return gave him energy to last throughout the day. "Yeah, you're right... But Roy..."

"Hmm? Shortie, is something bothering you?" Roy asked, concern entering his tone. His friend had only given an angry grunt to the height remark... Just what was on his mind?

"Well, you know that girl Winry Rockbell? The Sophomore?" Edward asked, watching his friend think for a moment before nodding. "Well she said she had something to tell me on Monday, and asked me to meet with her... What do you think it is?" Edward paused, clueless. "I have no idea..."

Roy sighed. His friend had always been oblivious, but really? He was _this_ dense? "Ed, really? It's kinda obvious."

The blond looked at his friend, blinking his golden eyes owlishly. "Really? What is it?" Wow. He really was dense about these types of things.

Suppressing another sigh, Roy marveled at the fact of how dense Ed was. "Ed, for a prodigy, you're not very bright."

Said prodigy flushed scarlet. "S-Shut up Roy!" He said angrily. "Just tell me already!" He demanded, taking a handful of salt and vinegar chips and shoving them in his mouth with his left -now ungloved- hand.

"She's gonna confess to you." After examining Ed's blank face, he continued. "You know... Like confess her love for you?" Another confused look. "Ed. She's. Going. To. Ask. You. Out." Roy said each word slowly, enunciating each word, mocking his friend and his cluelessness.

Golden eyes widened in realization. "Why the hell would she do that?"

Rolling his obsidian eyes, Roy answered as if he was talking to a kindergartener. "Because she likes you, idiot."

"But... What do I say? How do I answer her?"

"Well, Ed, do you wanna date her?"

Roy received a deadly glare in reply. "Roy, you know full well what my answer is, don't be a bastard."

Yeah, Roy had known he was gay for long time now. At first, they had both believed that Ed was an aromantic asexual, seeing as he never showed interest in anyone. But then, a year or so ago, Edward had come clean about his thoughts on his sexuality. Roy had just given him a smile and said that he was happy for him, and he'd be sure to tell him if he saw any hot guys.

And that was one of the many reasons they were best friends.

"Alright, you obviously don't want to date her, how are you gonna reject her?"

Edward paused, blinking his big golden eyes at Roy. "What do you mean, reject her?"

Rolling his eyes for the billionth time that night, Roy elaborated for his dense friend. "You don't want to go out with her right?" A nod came in reply. "So you have to reject her."

"How do I do that?"

It was moments like this that made it obvious that the blond had never been in a relationship before. "Goddammit Ed, we'll talk about this tomorrow."

Settling back on the couch, Roy tugged one of the blankets over him and Ed, who was lying at the opposite end of the couch. "I'm too tired for your PMSing teenage girl relationship shit." The raven-haired teen muttered.

"I am _not_ a teenage girl!"

Reaching over, Roy turned out the lamp on the small table next to the couch. "Well, you sure act like one." He grumbled.

A metal leg kicked his shin from under the blanket.

Yeah, it really was the perfect Friday night.

_To Be Continued _

**Hope you enjoyed, so don't forget to review! Love you!**


	2. Blushing Blonds and Confessions

**Here's chapter two! I hope you enjoy this chapter, so don't forget to review!**

**Dedicated to: Blackrose2358, my favorite screw-up/nerd pigeon **

**Disclaimer: Day 2537: Still don't own FMA**

**_Chapter Two:_**

**_Blushing Blonds and Confessions_**

It was a fine Monday afternoon, but Edward's flesh palm was sweating. His last class was ending in a few minutes, which meant the school would be over for the day. Which meant he would return to his locker to get his bag. Which meant Winry would be there, waiting for him.

And if Roy Mustang was correct, it meant she was going to confess to him.

The bell rang, and Edward made no movement to hurry out of class like the other kids. Slowly gathering up his books, he walked out of the classroom, his metal leg clanking against the tile hallway.

As he turned the corner, and his locker entered his line of vision, he sighed, accepting his fate. Winry was there, leaning against the other lockers, holding her backpack with a nervous expression painted on her face. The other students had long since ran out of the building, happy to be dismissed from the six hour torture.

Her face lit up as soon as she saw him. Edward cringed, now realizing Roy was right. "Ed!" She exclaimed, smiling. "You shouldn't keep a girl waiting like that. You'll never get a girlfriend if you act like that."

Oh no, what a shame, he'll never get a girlfriend. That was clearly a huge issue for him. Every gay boy wants a girlfriend. Obviously.

Blushing at her own words, Winry took a step away from the lockers as Ed opened his to grab his bag, shoving his binders and folders inside carelessly, all the while hoping that Winry would change her mind about telling him whatever it was she was going to tell him.

"So Ed..." Winry began, shuffling her foot against the floor. "There's something I really need to tell you."

Edward looked at her, silently pleading that she wasn't going to say what he thought she was going to say. "I've been waiting for the right moment..." She continued, her cheeks flushing a light pink. "But I decided that I need to just say it, or else I'll never get around to it."

Silence hung in the air as the blue-eyed girl gathered her courage, and the blond male considered running away. He liked being friends with Winry, he didn't want anything to happen to the frindship they had.

And then she broke the silence with words Ed did not want to hear. "Ed... I really like you."

For a moment, it seemed as if the world had stopped. Time had frozen has soon as those words left her mouth, and Ed was panicking. She did it. She confessed. But Ed was... Well, he was gay, and thus meant he didn't wanna go out with her because, well you know, he's gay. It's not really all that complicated.

But she was staring at him so expectantly... What should he do? He had to say something. His mind was in a confused flurry and the thought that he just had to say something. _Anything_.

"I'm already seeing someone." The words flew out of his mouth before he could stop them. Yeah, he thought it was okay to say anything, but not that! He just blatantly lied to her!

Winry's blue eyes narrowed in suspicion. Edward never really talked to anyone... So who could he possibly be dating? "Oh yeah? Who is she, Ed? What's her name?"

He had to say something, otherwise she'd know he was lying. What's a common name... Any name, he had to say something...

"Roy." He answered simply, before mentally slapping himself. How could he use his best friends name? Now she not only knew he was gay, but probably thought Roy was too. And he seriously just lied to her _again._

"Roy?" She asked, wondering what he could possibly mean by- Oh. _Oh. _Well, she supposed that made sense... Edward was always talking about him, and he was so down when Roy was gone... They were always around each other, after all...

"S-sorry Ed, I just didn't think that you uh- swung that way." She muttered her apology, still trying to process the new information. In a way, she was dubious of what Ed told her, not because she didn't trust him, but because they never acted like a couple. Roy Mustang was a huge flirt and Ed was just plain antisocial.

And at that moment, Roy came sauntering down the hallway. "Hey, Ed, I've been looking everywhere for you. Come on, Alphonse made us food at home." He paused, seeing the blonde girl behind Ed. "Oh, hey Winry."

Edward turned around to see his best friend, and desperately tried to signal with his eyes to get the hell out of there before Winry started asking questions. Roy, seeing the look the shorter teen gave him, knew something was up. Best friends could communicate with their minds like that. And he was immediately on guard and was about to walk away when Winry asked the question that was consuming her thoughts.

"Is it true that you and Ed are dating?" She blurted, determined to get some answers.

Now, you see, a normal friend or person would've immediately said no and declined her accusation, but well, Roy and Ed were very close. Like brothers, in a way. They'd been friends for years now, and maybe that's why Roy simply walked up to the blond male, slung his arm around his shoulder, pulled him close to his side and placed a kiss on the tanned cheek of his best friend.

"That's right." Roy said with a smirk on his face while Ed blushed furiously. "He's all mine."

Winry, completely sold on the act, was blushing madly. "Oh, I uh, I see." She said, completely dumbfounded by their apparent relationship.

"But Ed..." Roy whispered quietly, but purposely loud enough to let Winry hear. "I thought you said we would keep this a secret." His warm breath puffed on Ed's ear, which just made the shorter teen flush a deeper scarlet. "I'll have to punish you for that later." He finished, glancing at Winry from the corner of his onyx eyes.

"Oh. I uh, I'll be going. You two... Good luck together." She muttered before quickly walking away.

As soon as she was out of sight, Roy dropped his arm and Ed quickly spun to face him, a glare and a deep blush on his face. "The fuck was that?"

"Did you want me to tell her that we _aren't_ dating?" Roy asked, raising his perfect eyebrows.

"Well, uh, no... But you didn't have to go that far. " He muttered, trying to tame his outrageous blush.

"It's better to oversell than undersell, shortie."

Pressing a hand to his ear, Ed replied. "Yeah but... Why would you do that stuff?"

"Well, shrimp, that's what you get for lying."

Edward glared at the remark about his height, but let it slide. "Whatever, let's just go home already." He replied, marching down the hallway. "I'm damn hungry."

"You're always hungry, Ed." Roy retorted, but followed after his shorter friend anyway.

* * *

They arrived at Edward's house twenty minutes later, and Edward had a single question that he somehow hadn't thought of before.

"Roy... Winry thinks we're dating."

"Yeah, and who's fault is that? You're lucky I went along with it and saved your ass." Roy said, kicking off his shoes at the front door.

"But she thinks we're _dating_. That means if she sees you flirting with people, or us not acting like a couple she's gonna know we lied to her."

Rolling his obsidian eyes, Roy replied. "So then we act like a couple. It's really not that complicated Ed."

A blush rose to his cheeks. "A-and you're okay with that?"

"Well, you're my best friend after all. I'm bi, you're gay. I'm pretty sure people expected it to happen sooner or later anyway." He paused, collapsing onto the couch. "In fact, Jean, Maes, Heymans, Vato and Kain all have a running bet on it. I'm pretty sure Riza is silently suspecting it too..."

Edward's blush deepened. Dammit, all he was doing was blushing today. He knew that Roy must be silently making fun of him for blushing like a girl. "Psh, as if I'd ever go out with a stupid bastard with a god complex."

A smirk spread across Roy's lips. "Yeah, and I'd never go out with a stubborn _little_ brat like you."

Edward narrowed his eyes in a sharp glare before walming to the kitchen and grabbing the small plate of sandwiches Alphonse had prepared for the two of them. Grabbing two sodas from the fridge, Ed silently sighed in relief that they were only pretending to be dating. They'd never work as a real couple.

Right?

_To Be Continued_

**Don't forget to review! **

**FUN FACT: The confession scene was kinda based off of something that happened to me. My good friend confessed to me, but I had to turn him down because I just didn't see him that way. For Winry's dialogue, I kinda used what he said, and for Ed's emotions, I kinda used how I felt. -The more you know-**


	3. Cafeteria Lunch Dates and Hand Holding

**Hope you enjoyed the last chapter, and so here's the third! Hope you enjoy this chapter! Don't forget to review, I love you! This is my first time attempting to write a humor story, so sorry if it kinda sucks. I usually write really sad and angst stuff, but I decided to try something different, and I'm really enjoying this. I hope you're enjoying reading it as much as I enjoy writing it!**

**I AM SO SORRY IT'S BEEN SO LONG SINCE I'VE UPDATED! **

**Dedicated to: Everyone, cause you're all amazing, especially my lovely reviewers! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own FMA, but you wish I did, don't you? (Of course you don't)**

_**Chapter Three:**_

_**Cafeteria Lunch Dates and Hand Holding**_

Roy was laying in his bed -having just returned home from Edward's house- and was currently pondering the situation he found himself in. Maybe it would've been easier if he had said no when Winry asked if they were dating. Maybe no one would've heard about it, or maybe simply no one would care. Roy mentally rolled his eyes. This was high school after all, and if anyone had caught wind of this little thing that he and Ed were pulling, the entire school would blow-up about it. Then again, it wasn't everyday that the popular, womanizing flirt was suddenly in a committed relationship with his younger prodigy best friend.

Sighing, Roy turned on his side. It definitely would've been easier if he has said no to Winry. Why did Ed say his name anyway? Ed could've easily said a different name -could've even claimed it was a girl- or he could've just rejected her instead of lying. But that wasn't the case. Ed had said _his_ name, and so now it was his job as the best friend to help Ed with this.

Well, it may not be easy, but it'd certainly be interesting.

* * *

Edward slammed his hand on his alarm clock, groaning as he forced himself out of bed. He never really looked forward to going to school, but especially not today. He had to face Winry again, should she choose to talk to him. Sure, she confessed to him and all, but then again she now thinks he's gay (which he is) and doesn't every straight girl want a gay best friend? Maybe that was a myth, but he was pretty sure he had heard the girls in the hallways talking about stuff like that.

Squeezing the minty toothpaste on his red toothbrush, he brushed his teeth vigorously as he continued with his thoughts. Although, unfortunately for the girls at his school, he wasn't a flamboyantly fashionable gay guy. After all, that was just a another stereotype that he hated. In fact, most people said he had terrible taste (which Ed disagreed with. Red and black, skulls and spikes were fucking awesome and no one would ever convince him otherwise). Maybe this whole thing will just blow over, and he could carry on with his daily school life.

Slipping on his red hoodie, Ed had actually thought that that could possibly be true. That no one would've heard of his and Roy's 'dating' or had seen the events that had transpired yesterday. Unfortunately, there were club activities yesterday, and its possible -and likely- that someone else besides Winry had seen the things that had happened yesterday. But well, Ed would deal with that when it happened.

And so, he let it completely slip his mind, shooing the topic out of his head. And with that, he grabbed his backpack and walked down the stairs.

* * *

It was second block when yet another person approached him with a curious look on their face. Knowing this was bound to continue to happen throughout the day, he closed his locker door after grabbing the needed textbook.

"Hey Roy..." The girl began, shuffling her feet nervously. "Uh, I was uh... Just wondering if it was true?"

Of course, Roy wasn't an idiot. He knew exactly what she was referring to, but just for the hell of it, he wanted her to say it herself. It was rather obvious that she was one of his many admirers, and while he wasn't in the business of heartbreaking, he wasn't in the business of leading people on either. Sure, he was a bit of a flirt, but it was all in good fun, not to break people's hearts.

"Is what true?" He asked, flashing a dazzling grin at the nervous girl.

"That uh, you and uh..." She paused, as if mentally preparing herself to ask the question that had been on her mind all morning since she had heard the whispers passing the rumor around and seen the shocked texts from her friends. "That you and uh, Edward are... You know... Dating?"

Roy personally didn't understand why this was such a seemingly hard question to ask. Well, maybe this girl found this question just awkward to ask, maybe because she was uncomfortable with the fact Edward was a male and wouldn't have a hard time asking if it was a female. Or maybe it's because she most likely had a crush on him. Or maybe it was simply because she was shy. Roy wasn't entirely sure why he was putting so much thought into why she was asking him this, but for some reason he was. Was it really that big of an issue that he and Edward were 'dating'?

"Yes." Roy replied, still smiling.

Roy was considered popular after all, so it was practically a requirement that he show brilliant smiles constantly. That was one thing Roy almost envied about Ed, he never put on pretenses, he was just himself. When he was happy he showed it. When he was angry he definitely showed it. Sure, Edward wasn't popular -no where close, in fact- but at least he never had to smile when all he wanted to do was tell people to mind their own fucking business.

Yeah, that was another good thing about Edward. He was always himself... He didn't give two shits about what other people thought.

People that had been eavesdropping around them gasped, a girl shrieked and boys whispered something about 'no homo'. This was high school, after all. Meanwhile the girl just gave a small smile and wished him and Edward the best of luck. Roy continued on with his classes as if it had never happened. But Roy couldn't help but wonder what would happen if he and Ed were to _actually_ start dating. And he couldn't believe he almost had to remind himself that he and Ed weren't actually dating.

This was just pretend.

They were _just_ playing pretend.

* * *

Ed sat next across from Roy at the cafeteria table, ignoring the glances from envious girls or other curious onlookers. You'd think they'd be used to it by now. Roy and Ed had sat together for lunch since middle school, so why the strange glances now? Oh yeah... That's right... It's because they're 'dating'. That little tidbit had almost completely escaped his mind, seeing as he hadn't seen Winry all day, and no one dared approach him to ask themselves, and he had instead been focusing on his chemistry work which he found extremely fascinating.

"Okay, am I the only one who's been getting weird looks all day?" Ed asked as he shoved his slice of pizza into his mouth with the same amount of grace and elegance as a pig, or perhaps a hungry dog.

Roy sighed. He should've known that he was the only one people would actually talk to about the new hot topic of the school, seeing as most people either hated Ed (for some reason), feared him (Ed was known to get angry easily), or had already asked Roy. Then again, if Roy was one of his peers, he probably wouldn't want to ask the short temperamental prodigy kid if he was dating his male best friend or not either.

And the blond was too fucking dense about social situations to realize that they were all staring at them to see if they could figure out whether they were really dating or not, Winry included. Halfway through lunch (Ed still eating like a starved animal) Roy realized he was really fucking tired of not being able to eat his own damn sandwich without getting weird-ass looks from the people around him who were too curious for their own good.

What did they expect? The fact that they were 'dating' had become known, so now they were suddenly going to get all hot and heavy on the cafeteria table? Uh, no thank you, fuckwads.

There was pizza sauce on the corner of the shorter teen's lips, and after glancing out of the corner of his eye to make sure his peers were still watching, Roy swiped his thumb across Ed's mouth -successfully cleaning the pizza sauce off of his mouth- and licking his finger clean with a smirk spreading across his face.

The other students gaped openly, and Ed blushed furiously. "What the hell was that?" He whispered angrily, swiping his hand across his mouth.

"Just playing the part, _darling_." Roy teased, placing his hand on Ed's metal hand that had been laying on the table top, entwining their fingers and his smirk growing as people turned away from them and towards each other to gossip about what they had all just seen. This was what high school was like, putting on a show for other people. So he and Ed would just have to put on a show for them.

Ed growled, knowing he couldn't pull his hand away from Roy's without someone noticing and thus making their act not very convincing. So instead, Ed plastered on a sickeningly sweet smile, his eyebrows twitching in irritation. Squeezing Roy's hand tightly and while to others it might look like a cute romantic gesture... But only Roy and Edward knew that Roy had chosen his automail hand to hold, and therefore he was causing Roy immense pain in his hand by gripping it tightly.

"Oh you're right, _dear." _Edward stressed, leaning across the table. "I'm _so_ lucky to have such a _caring _and _considerate_ boyfriend like you."

Roy suppressed his groan of pain, and mentally noted that the next time he wants to embarrass Edward and show-off to his peers he should grab the left hand, not the right. Masking the pain in his hand with a cool smile, he grinned at Ed. "Yes, you are lucky. Just like _I'm _lucky to have a boyfriend who doesn't cause me physical pain."

Ed loosened his grip on his hand, and Roy let out a breath of relief that the circulation was back in his hand. "Yeah, you're damn right you're lucky." Ed scoffed, taking his left hand -his right hand still being held tightly in Roy's own- and stuffing his face with food once again.

Smirking with amusement, Roy held up his own carton of milk and held it towards Ed. "Seeing as I'm such a caring and considerate boyfriend, I'll give you my milk. Help you grow a little, shorty. Maybe one day I'll be able to kiss you without having to get you a stepladder."

The blond wasn't entirely sure if he should blush or dump that carton of milk on Roy's stupid hair.

* * *

They were walking to Edward's house together, as usual. Alphonse (who usually walked home with them as well) had stayed behind for club activities, thus leaving the two older teens alone. It was sunny out, and Ed shielded his eyes from the sun as they walked along the brick sidewalk on the way to his house.

"Roy?" Ed asked softly, walking slower than before.

The raven-haired teen had almost stopped in his tracks upon hearing the tone of voice his best friend was using. "Yeah Ed?"

"I'm... Well, you know, I'm sorry. For dragging you into all this crap."

Roy smiled at Ed before grabbing the right gloved hand of the golden-eyed boy. He couldn't believe Ed felt guilty about something like this, enough to actually apologize. Was it a bit more hard than an average school day? Yeah, but it also added some interesting points that wouldn't have been there otherwise. "It's okay, Ed. This is what best friends are for, right?"

Ed looked down at his feet, a small smile edging it's way onto his face as he squeezed Roy's hand back. Gently, unlike before in the cafeteria. "Right." He answered, and they resumed their walk in a peaceful silence.

And this time, they held hands, both knowing that there was no one around for them to put on a show for.

_To Be Continued _

**Here's a thank you in advance for all my lovely reviews, you really brighten up my day! Again, I'm so sorry I hadn't updated in forever, I've been rather busy.**

**Note: I will be going camping from August 3rd to August 13th, so I won't be able to update anytime during then (seeing as I'm in a cabin in the woods with no internet connection) but I'll do my best to update when I get back!**


	4. Bets and Blushes

**Hey guys! Thank you for all the lovely reviews, here's the next chapter! I hope you enjoy, so don't forget to review! I'm trying to update as much as I can before I leave for camp. **

**And just in case you guys didn't know: Kain = Fuery, Jean = Havoc, Riza = Hawkeye, Heymans = Breda, Maes = Hughes**

**Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own FMA. I'll tell you when I do.**

_**Chapter Four:**_

_**Bets and Blushes**_

People were still staring at him, but it was less than before. And to be honest, Ed never really paid those people any mind anyway, choosing rather to emerge himself in this fictional book about two brothers who lost their mother and tried to bring her back with something called 'alchemy' and then ended up paying for it dearly. It was a rather interesting series, and Edward looked forward to reading the other books in the series. He couldn't help but wonder what he would do in that protagonist's situation, and his heart kind went out to him, for some unknown reason he didn't understand.

Winry had started talking to him again, and it was like she pretended that nothing had ever happened, and he couldn't blame her for that. When he texted Roy about it secretly in class, Roy said it was because he was a guy, and that it wouldn't have been the same if Ed had said he was dating a girl. Ed wondered if it was true, but shrugged to himself, not entirely caring. Winry and him were on good terms still, so it didn't really matter.

Time passed quickly, and before he knew it, he was meeting up with Roy after class to head to the cafeteria together. And strangely enough, the stares didn't bother him so much after Roy put his arm his shoulders and guided him to the cafeteria. He watched as Roy smiled at him, his arm was around his shoulders so naturally, pulling him close to the older teen's side.

And all he could think was that Roy was a really convincing actor.

* * *

"Took you guys fucking long enough." Jean said, grinning as he slid next to Riza at the cafeteria table, his lunch tray full of unhealthy things.

"What?" Ed and Roy asked simultaneously, both confused to what their friend could be referring to.

Kain, Heymans, Jean and Maes all exchanged knowing glances and Riza just raised her eyebrows. Even Alphonse gave them a look. Ignoring the glances, Ed continued to eat his lunch.

"And where the hell were all you guys yesterday?" Roy asked, wondering where all his friends could've gone, seeing as none of them had been present for lunch yesterday, although he had been a little bit too busy embarrassing Ed to notice at the time.

"I was at my darling little sister Elicia's school play yesterday! Do you wanna see some photos?" Maes asked, already pulling out twenty photos of his seven year old sister dressed as a raindrop for the elementary school's play of Itsy Bitsy Spider. Everyone groaned when he pulled out his plethora of photos, but nonetheless they all looked at the photos of the admittedly adorable little girl.

"I've been sick for the last four damn days, glad to see you noticed." Heymans muttered as he took a large bite of his meatball sub.

Jean laughed sheepishly before answering. "I had detention again..."

"Kain and I had a club meeting." Alphonse answered happily, munching on his salad.

"And I just simply didn't feel like be around you two _lovebirds_." She replied with a hint of a smirk turning the corner of her lips.

Jean laughed, before adding on to Riza's comment. "Guys, I'm almost a little offended that you didn't tell any of us first."

The rest of the group -excluding Ed and Roy- snickered with laughter, Jean holding his hand out for a high-five as Riza rolled her eyes but high-fived him anyway as the rest of the group tried to contain his laughter, Alphonse flushed red with mirth and Heymans barking out deep laughter. Roy and Ed both rolled their eyes, realizing they had failed to explain the situation to their friends.

After exchanging a few glances, with their telepathic mind best friend talk, they realized they weren't going to tell their friends they weren't actually dating, seeing as they -besides Riza, Kain and Al- were all rather loud and talkative people, and they didn't exactly want to risk the chance that their little act could be exposed. Besides, it might be fun to pull one over on their friends too.

"Breda, you owe me ten bucks." Jean told him, stretching out his hand and wiggling his fingers greedily, ready to take the money.

"Dammit..." Heymans muttered, fishing out his wallet from his pocket and grabbing a ten dollar bill. "I could've sworn that they wouldn't have gotten together until _after_ winter break."

"What?" Ed squeaked as he flushed red, watching as his friends all exchange money according to their previously arranged bets.

Maes dutifully answered Edward's embarrassed question. "Well, Ed, we all knew that you two were gonna get together eventually. So we made it more interesting with betting on when one of you would finally get the balls to actually confess."

"What do you mean?" Roy asked, his interest piquing.

Maes laughed before replying. "Have you ever seen the way you two look at each other? It's like Romeo and Juliet... Only you two aren't dead, and one of you isn't a girl. I mean, you guys have always been super close and it's been _six_ _years_, Roy. Andyou're both protective of each other, it's like you've been dating for years now. Hell, even Al thinks so."

Al blushed lightly at the mention of his name, but spoke anyway. "Well brother, it's true... You talk about Roy an awfully lot." He paused before speaking again. "Not that it's a bad thing!" He rushed to add, hoping not to embarrass his older brother. "I'm really glad that Roy makes you happy, brother."

Pushing up his glasses, Maes decided to add more evidence. "Remember that one year that Ed got sick? And it was such a minor little fever that Al could still go to school and not have to take care of him, but Roy-boy ditched the whole school day -even though there was a test that day- and made four pots full of porridge because he was worried."

The blond teen was flushed crimson, and even Roy's cheeks were dusted a light pink as well, and both avoided making eye contact with one another. Neither of them commented on anything their friends said, but they couldn't deny it either.

* * *

The rest of the school day had been uneventful, although Edward noticed the straight boys of the school whispered 'no homo' whenever he walked near them, like a protective prayer. How irritating.

Ed had to admit, his obsidian-eyed friend was a really good actor, he had easily convinced everyone in school that they really were an item, and hell, he had almost convinced Ed of it too. Which was preposterous, considering this was just something they had done so Ed wouldn't be chased by Winry or have to awkwardly reject her, thus ruining their friendship.

But really, they weren't dating. It was just a best friend lending him a hand.

As Edward closed his locker door and headed off to his last class of the day, he wondered why he got a little sad at the thought of that.

* * *

The blond walked out his last class as the bell rang, stopping by his locker to see Winry was standing there waiting for him. Curious, he approached his locker with caution. What if she had found out he and Roy weren't really dating?

"Hey Ed." Winry greeted him with a smile, waving.

Oh, maybe it really was nothing. Just Winry being friendly. Damn he was paranoid. "Hey Win." He greeted in return, opening his locker and shoving his textbooks and binders in before grabbing his bag and shutting the locker door.

Her smile grew, and her face flushed lightly before she continued. "Well, I just wanted to tell you that although you and Roy are dating -and I'm happy for you, really- I want you to know that I'll be here for you when -if- you two break up." She laughed heartily before walking down the hallway. "I don't give up that easily, chemistry freak!"

Well... Shit.

He didn't even get to explain that he's gay (which she already knows) and that means he wouldn't be interested in her like that. Ever. Guess he and Roy would be keeping up this pretend dating act for a while longer.

The corner of his mouth twitched upward upon the realization, although he couldn't figure out why.

* * *

Roy read the text from Ed that had the news of what Winry had told him at his locker. Nodding, Roy took a sip of his soda. So, he and Ed would have to continue to pretend to date. That wasn't such a bad thing, now was it? It's not like they had ever discussed on when they would go back to 'not dating'. But Roy knew that it would't be for a while, not while Winry was so determined to win Edward over. What didn't she understand about gay? Roy inwardly groaned, hoping she didn't think that she was one of those girls who could make a gay guy turn straight.

Ed had gone to go pick up a pizza for them with Alphonse, and so Roy was watching TV as he laid on the couch, waiting for Ed to return home. God, he sounded like a housewife waiting for her husband to return home from work.

The raven-haired boy wondered why did she want Ed anyway? Practically all the guys in school were falling head over heels for her and willing to do anything she said, and yet she had to fall for the one gay guy in the school? Besides, while Ed was admittedly good looking, he was temperamental and violent and a complete... Dork about some things. Like chemistry. That kid could talk about chemistry for hours, he could list the periodic table off of the tip of his tongue.

Although, Roy had to admit it was kinda almost... Cute... The way Ed's eyes would light up with that special spark when he talked about something he was interested in, and Roy wouldn't trade one of Ed's passionate talks for the world. The way he got so animated about a certain topic was so intriguing. It was like a fire got lit up inside of him as he explained these chemical reactions and Roy couldn't help but feel special that Ed shared his thoughts about it with him.

And he always stood up for others, and put his heart into whatever he did. You could tell that kid to bake cookies, and Ed -who sucked at cooking- would do his hardest to make the damn best cookies in the world. The blond was always there for his friends, even if he had to run out of his class to do it. He took care of Alphonse, even before his mother had died. Ed never let things peg him down or hold him back, he kept moving forward, and Roy would be lying if he said it wasn't inspiring.

But Ed was strong, he had faced his father leaving and his mother dying before his very eyes and held strong. He had been a small boy who wiped his tears and stood up strong and proud and did his best to make everything the best he could for Alphonse. He had become a father, mother and brother to that one little boy. But Roy had been there on the first anniversary of Trisha's death, and he had seen Ed's eyes shine with tears that he refused to let fall as he stared at the gravestone as Al wept openly, and Roy knew even back then that Ed was stronger than anyone had ever given him credit for.

Edward walked in, his cheeks rosy from the cold wind outside as he flashed a dazzling grin at Roy. "Hey Roy, we got your favorite tonight." He said while smiling brightly.

And for the first time, Roy realized that his best friend really was good looking. With that silky, beautiful golden hair that was so long and looked so soft... Those fiery gold eyes that had so much emotion in them you could drown, it was like staring in to the sun. He was short, but he was toned. His skin was naturally tanned and warm, and Roy knew it was soft.

"Hey Roy, why're you staring at me like that? You weirdo, just get your damn pizza." Ed muttered, blushing with embarrassment from having Roy's warm onyx eyes staring at him so intensely.

A blush rose to Roy's pale cheeks as he looked away from his friend and got his pizza. Wait. Was he really blushing? Eyes widening, he pressed one hand to his cheek to find it burning hot. Ed sent him a confused glance, and his cheeks burned hotter. Roy Mustang didn't blush. He just didn't. It was like a fact of life. But why would he blush just because he was looking at Edward?

Sitting on the couch and taking a rather large bite of his pizza, he gave it some thought. There was only one answer he could think of, but that couldn't be right, now could it? A automail finger flicked his forehead, and he noticed Ed was standing and holding out a soda can for him.

"You idiot, pay attention." Ed muttered fondly, a warm smile spreading across his face. Roy's heart pounded in his chest as he stared at that seemingly brilliant smile.

Well... Shit.

_To Be Continued_

**Hope you enjoyed! I wrote this immediately after the third chapter, but I decided to wait a little before posting it. I'm not very fond of this chapter, but I hope you liked it. Don't forget to review!**

**NOTE: About the ages of characters for Trisha's first anniversary. Remember, Roy is two years older than Ed, but they're both seniors. They've known each other since seventh grade (six years) and Roy's 18, Ed's 16, which means they would've first met when Roy was 12 and Ed was 10. I'm gonna say Trisha died when Ed was 9. **


End file.
